Alone With God!

Matthew 14:23-And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. NKJV

Life gets busy! Whether we are busy with children, keeping a house, running a company, or running a ministry, the cares of this world have a way of pulling on us.

In Matthew 14, we see that Jesus had a lot going on in His life. First, He was told that His cousin, John the Baptist had been beheaded. Can you imagine the grief He must have felt?

When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 

Matthew 14:13

Matthew wrote that when Jesus heard about John, He got in a boat and went to a deserted place to be alone. However, that didn’t work out too well for Him. When the people heard that Jesus had slipped out on them, they went to look for Him. He didn’t get much time to grieve John. Ministry was calling!

Have you been there yet? Have you had so much going on in your life that you didn’t even have time to grieve a loved one? Jesus did! And yet, when the people found Him, His compassion compelled Him to heal the sick.

If that wasn’t enough, the large crowd needed nourishment, and the disciples wanted to send them away, but Jesus said no. So He multiplied what was available and fed them all; more than 5,000 people were present. When everyone was satisfied, and things were cleaned up, Jesus sent them all away, including His disciples. Then He went up the mountain to pray.

Think about it for a second. Jesus is obviously grief-stricken over the death of John the Baptist. He wanted to spend time alone in His sorrow and talk to His Father about it. Because we have a tendency to forget that Jesus was human and divine, at the same time, we may not realize that the news broke his heart. Could He have wanted to resurrect John? Could He have wished John had not suffered such a terrible fate? Possibly! We don’t know! But we do know He wanted to get alone to pray.

Sometimes in my life, I just want to be alone with Jesus. I want to pull away from it all. When those times press upon me, I make it happen! I may have some detours on the way, just as Jesus had, but I eventually get there. And when I do, it’s such a blessed relief to fall into His arms or to engage with Him in prayer.

Because my uncle passed away, this scripture resonated with me tonight. I was at work when I got the call and I wanted to be alone with God. I made some calls, sent some texts, and had a few conversations, and then I was alone with Him.

His peace came over me and I knew I was in the right place. Just as I am sure Jesus felt the overwhelming comfort and love of God that night He went on the mountain to pray after John’s death. I didn’t walk on water afterward, like He did; but I felt a lot better and His peace has been my shield.

I started this blog by stating the obvious, life gets busy! But sometimes it also gets messy, painful, and hard. That is the absolute best time to pull away and spend time with Jesus! Nothing will be of more value to you than getting with Him. For it is in the secret place of the Most High God that we find the peace, strength, and comfort that we seek. Be blessed! Wonderful Jesus!